Factors Affecting Minor Psychiatric Disorder in Southern Iranian Nurses: A Latent Class Regression Analysis

Abstract

Background: Mental health is one of the most important dimensions of life and its quality. Minor Psychiatric Disorder as a type of mental health problem is prevalent among health workers. Nursing is considered to be one of the most stressful occupations.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of minor psychiatric disorder and its associated factors among nurses in southern Iran.

Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 771 nurses working in 20 cities of Bushehr and Fars provinces in southern Iran. Participants were recruited through multi-stage sampling during 2014. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was used for screening of minor psychiatric disorder in nurses. Latent Class Regression was used to analyze the data.

Results: The prevalence of minor psychiatric disorder among nurses was estimated to be 27.5%. Gender and sleep disorders were significant factors in determining the level of minor psychiatric disorder (P Values of 0.04 and < 0.001, respectively). Female nurses were 20% more likely than males to be classified into the minor psychiatric disorder group.

Conclusions: The results of this study provide information about the prevalence of minor psychiatric disorder among nurses, and factors, which affect the prevalence of such disorders. These findings can be used in strategic planning processes to improve nurses' mental health.

Keywords: Iran; Mental Disorders; Nurses; Regression.

Figure 1.. Probabilities of Choosing the ‘Never’ Option in Positive Items and the ‘Always’ Option in Negative Items (the last option of Items in GHQ-12 )